This year’s Tony nominations will not be announced until May, but you can bet that the Broadway revival of “Sunday in the Park with George” with Jake Gyllenhaal and Annaleigh Ashford will not receive any nominations, even though it received rapturous reviews when it premiered as a concert at City Center in October. As first reported by Broadway.com, the show’s producers have opted out of Tony Awards consideration. In a statement, they noted that “Sunday” is receiving an “extremely limited, special run” and that the current Broadway season is already packed with plenty of other musicals both old and new. It is assumed that Tony voters will therefore not receive complimentary tickets, thus saving the producers a lot of money in potential revenue.
It’s ‘1984’ on Broadway
George Orwell’s grim futuristic novel “1984,” which has received renewed attention in light of the current political atmosphere, will be staged on Broadway this summer. The adaptation, by Robert Icke and Duncan Macmillan, previously played London and toured the U.K. It will open on June 22 at the newly restored Hudson Theatre (where “Sunday in the Park with George” is about to begin performances).
‘Hamilton Mixtape’ now on cassette
“The Hamilton Mixtape” is now a mixtape for real. The popular album, in which pop artists reinterpret and perform songs from the hip-hop musical, is being released as an audiocassette. The last album of any kind I bought on cassette may have been “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” in 1993 when I was 10 years old.
‘Waitress’ to release pie recipe book
The Broadway musical “Waitress,” where pieces of pie can be purchased before the show and during intermission, is now coming out with a pie recipe book. “Sugar, Butter, Flour: The Waitress Pie Cookbook,” to be released on May 23, will include instructions for making creations inspired by the plot of “Waitress” such as “The Key (Lime) to Happiness Pie,” “The I Wanna Play Doctor with My Gynecologist Chocolate Mousse Pie” and “The My Husband’s a Jerk Chicken Pot Pie.”
‘Hello, Dolly!’ releases front row tix
Early this week, the producers of “Hello, Dolly!” released tickets in the front row of the orchestra for all performances. This raises the question of why those seats were not previously made available for purchase. Were the producers planning to do a lottery for cheap tickets in the front row (like many other shows do) and then decide against it? Front center orchestra tickets are now going for $189.00 apiece, compared with $59.00 for a ticket at the back of the balcony.
Public Theater to hold Trump discussions
The Public Theater will surely produce plays in the near future that directly respond to the Trump presidency. But as a first step, the theater (in partnership with The New Yorker) will offer “Public Forum: A Well-Ordered Nation,” a monthly series of four evenings where artists, writers and politicians will “consider what it means to be responsible citizens and how culture can respond to politics in the Age of Donald Trump,” according to a news release. It will begin on Feb. 20 with playwright Tony Kushner and author Salman Rushdie discussing “The Stuff of Fiction.” All of the events will be livestreamed.
Can you guess the new Paper Mill season?
In what has become a popular game for theater geeks, New Jersey’s Paper Mill Playhouse has released a series of five images that hint at the shows that will make up its upcoming season. Some of the mystery was spoiled by the NY1 television program Onstage, which revealed that the new Paper Mill season will include the new musical adaptation of the classic television series “The Honeymooners” and “Half Time,” a new musical about a hip-hop dance troupe made up of senior citizens.
‘God of Vengeance’ getting an encore
A few weeks ago, New Yiddish Repertory Theatre revived the 1907 Yiddish-language melodrama “God of Vengeance” in advance of the Broadway premiere of “Indecent,” Paula Vogel’s play about the making and production history of “God of Vengeance.” The company announced this week that it will bring back “God of Vengeance” for a short encore run in March at the Theatre at St. Clement’s in Chelsea.
Spotted…
Hillary and Bill Clinton at “In Transit” … Michael Moore at “Jitney” … Melissa McCarthy at “Dear Evan Hansen” … Brooke Shields at “Jonah and Otto.”
